Aug 20, 2026 11:23 PM

The Indianapolis Colts' defense stood firm against the Atlanta Falcons when the pressure was cranked on Thursday.

The Indianapolis Colts hosted the Atlanta Falcons for the second of two joint practices on Thursday, and the Colts' defense slammed the door on the Falcons' offense in the final two-minute drill.More Videos

WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts closed out training camp on Thursday with the second of two joint practices with the Atlanta Falcons at Grand Park Sports Campus.

After an entertaining pair of days full of 11-on-11 drills, the two sides went at it for one final set of two-minute drills, which the Colts' defense fully claimed.

Here's how Thursday's hour-and-a-half session went.

TEAM

— The following Colts players missed Thursday's practice: wide receiver Alec Pierce (PUP-ankle), tight end Tyler Warren (groin, missed one practice), wide receiver Anthony Gould (groin, missed last four practices), cornerback Charvarius Ward Sr. (back, missed last five practices), offensive tackle Luke Tenuta (knee, missed last four practices), offensive tackle Nolan Rucci (missed last four practices).

— After practice, Colts head coach Shane Steichen indicated Warren's injury wasn't anything serious and that they're just being smart with him by keeping him out.

— After missing six practices with a hamstring injury, running back DJ Giddens returned on Wednesday and participated only in position drills. He did the same on Thursday.

— The final session of practice was an 11-on-11 drill, featuring both teams' first- and second-team offenses and defenses. With 1:05 remaining, the offense was at their own 25-yard line and down by one point. Here's how each went:

— Quarterback Daniel Jones found receiver Josh Downs for a short completion. Next, under heavy pressure, Jones threw an incompletion low. Right guard Matt Goncalves then false-started, backing up the offense five yards. Jones then went deep downfield to Downs for what resulted in a defensive pass interference call of roughly 40 yards. Running back Jonathan Taylor had a short run up the middle. Kicker Spencer Shrader then nailed a 48-yard field goal to win with the clock expiring.

— Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dinked-and-dunked his way to the midfield area, making a few completions. He then faced heavy pressure, throwing an incompletion to running back Bijan Robinson with Colts edge defender Laiatu Latu in coverage. The Colts then threw a blitz at Tagovailoa on fourth down, forcing a sack by multiple players and a turnover on downs.

— The Colts' second-team offense was up next, with quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. getting the drive. He went 4-of-5 passing (80.0%), featuring completions to receivers Deion Burks (2), Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and Coleman Owen. The drive was nearly thrown off after a couple of plays when center Dalton Tucker snapped the ball over Richardson's head, but Richardson was able to pick it up and throw it out of bounds. After a run up the middle by running back Seth McGowan and a spike with 0:03 remaining, Shrader booted a 52-yard field goal to win. After practice, Steichen said Richardson executed the drive "perfectly."

— The final drive of practice belonged to the Falcons' second-team offense. Quarterback Cooper Rush found receiver Chris Blair for a long catch and run along the left side before he was pushed out of bounds. Rush then went deep down the left side again, but the ball hit Colts cornerback Johnathan Edwards in the back of the helmet for the incompletion. The next play was the day's last, as Colts safety Jonathan Owens tipped Rush's short pass to the right, and cornerback Rob Carter Jr. was there to intercept it and end the day.

OFFENSE

— The primary first-team offense was: QB Daniel Jones, RB Jonathan Taylor, WR Ashton Dulin, WR Laquon Treadwell, SWR Josh Downs, TE Mo Alie-Cox, LT Bernhard Raimann, LG Quenton Nelson, C Tanor Bortolini, RG Matt Goncalves, and RT Jalen Travis.

— The Colts officially signed wide receiver Keenan Allen on Wednesday. It was originally thought he'd only do position work on Thursday, but he told Steichen he wanted to get into some live 11-on-11 reps, so they gave him 14.

DEFENSE

— During 1-on-1s pitting Colts cornerbacks against Falcons wide receivers in the red zone, the Falcons had 15 wins compared to 9 Colts wins. Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner versus Falcons receiver Drake London was the marquee matchup, and it did not disappoint. London got Gardner first with a 50-50 touchdown from about 12 yards out before Gardner forced incompletions on the next two attempts. Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones got an interception in front of Falcons receiver Antwane Wells Jr. On the final rep of the drill, Carter forced an incompletion, which resulted in the Falcons coaches making their receivers do push-ups.

— The Colts' primary first-team defense was: DE Laiatu Latu, 3TDT DeForest Buckner, 1TNT Grover Stewart, DE Arden Key, MIKE Akeem Davis-Gaither, WILL Jaylon Carlies, CB Sauce Gardner, CB Justin Walley, SCB Cam Taylor-Britt, FS Cam Bynum, and SS A.J. Haulcy.

— This appeared to be the most work, including 11-on-11s, that Buckner has received during camp since returning from December neck surgery. If he's not considered fully back at this point, he appears to be close to it.

— The Colts spent the first session of 11-on-11s, which was in the red zone, rotating heavily, almost whole position groups at a time.

— Tagovailoa was 7-of-14 passing (50.0%) during 11-on-11s, looking as rough as he did the day prior, when he held onto the ball for far too long, running around aimlessly. Most of his passes appeared to be inside the sticks, with anything beyond them waning in accuracy.

— Latu had several pressures, flushing Tagovailoa out of the pocket multiple times. Latu also had the play in coverage where he had Robinson bottled up.

— Gardner and Walley both had terrific reps against London in coverage. During 11-on-11s, London leaped and high-pointed a ball in the end zone for what appeared to be an impressive touchdown grab before Walley ripped the ball out of his grasp.

— Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt had an up-and-down day. He gave up two touchdowns from Tagovailoa to London, but then broke up a pass in the end zone intended for tight end Kyle Pitts Sr.

— One of the players of the day was Colts linebacker Jaylon Carlies, who had an impressive leaping interception of a high-powered Michael Penix Jr. throw during 7-on-7s before registering a sack later.

— Carter put a bow on what's been an impressive camp, shutting down a Falcons receiver on the final rep of 1-on-1s, and then intercepting the final play of the day.

— Rookie linebacker Bryce Boettcher drew a tough assignment during 7-on-7s while guarding Robinson on a wheel route, which Robinson caught from Penix for a touchdown from about 20 yards out.

SPECIAL TEAMS

— Shrader got the kicking duties on Thursday, punctuating both of the Colts' two-minute drives at the end of practice for the first- and second-team offenses. Shrader made the first kick from 48 yards and the second from 52. Since the mandatory minicamp in June, including joint practices and a preseason game, Blake Grupe is 47-of-52 (90.4%), and Shrader is 37-of-53 (69.8%).

— During punt drills, the gunner tandems were: Edwards/Burks, Taylor-Britt/Eli Pancol, Ben Nikkel/D.J. Montgomery, Jones/Austin Brown, Mekhi Blackmon/Carter, Edwards/Mekhi Rodgers, Taylor-Britt, Jai'Onte' McMillan, Nikkel/Pancol, Raylen Sharpe/Montgomery, Jones/Brown, Blackmon/Carter, Edwards/McMillan, Sahmir Hagans/Burks, Nikkel/Pancol, and Jones/Brown.

— The punt returners were: Owen, Hagans, Sharpe, Burks, and Montgomery (muffed one).

Next, the two teams will meet at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday for their preseason matchup at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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